The Disconnection in Storytelling
On a Saturday morning in Kathmandu, filmmaker Prasuna Dongol shared her reflections on Facebook about her experience at the Short Film Development Lab pitch event. She described a room filled with energy, teams ready to present their projects, and a stage dominated by gatekeepers. As she counted the organizing team, she noted there were twelve men and no women mentors. Most of the pitches that day focused on stories about women, which didn’t bother her. However, she was concerned about the lack of depth, research, empathy, and genuine engagement in many of the presentations.
Dongol pointed out the irony of seeing all-male panels and organizing teams deciding which women’s stories get told, questioning whether the industry had made as much progress as it believed. This disconnect is not a new issue but a structural one, evident across Nepal’s film industry from writing rooms to funding decisions and festival selections. What has changed is the visibility of the gap between who tells the story and whose story gets told.
Films and Their Impact
The release of Lali Bazaar earlier this month brought attention to the issue. Directed by Shivam Adhikari and starring Swastima Khadka and Rabindra Singh Baniya, the social drama about the exploitation of women from the Badi community grossed over Rs57 million at the box office. Despite its success, the film faced legal challenges due to allegations of negatively portraying the Badi community. Notably, no one from the Badi community was part of the core creative team.
Similarly, Purna Bahadur Ko Sarangi, a 2024 social drama directed by Saroj Poudel about a marginalised Gandharva community father, became the highest-grossing film in Nepali cinema history. However, its writing team also lacked representation from the Dalit or Gandharva communities. Both films were praised for their sincerity, but the absence of community voices raised questions about the authenticity of the storytelling.
Chalachitra Lab and Inclusion Efforts
Chalachitra Lab, launched in 2025 and officially registered this year under the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF), aimed to address these issues. Its first Short Film Development Lab received 32 applications, with 10 involving women in some capacity. Of the six selected projects, three had women as writers, directors, or producers. One team later withdrew, leaving five projects, two of which had female participation.
Co-founder Sushant Shrestha acknowledged the gender imbalance but emphasized the effort to extend deadlines and reach out through networks. He apologized for the all-male stage at the pitch event, noting that women involved with the organization were unable to attend. The board consists of three men and two women, with wider membership that includes equal numbers of both.
Perspectives on Inclusion
Filmmaker Deepak Rauniyar, whose debut feature Highway screened at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2012, highlighted the need for stronger commitment to inclusion in future editions of the lab. He argued that while the organizers’ intentions are genuine, the stage presented during the event revealed a weakness that needed recognition.
For Rauniyar, the issue extends beyond a single event, into how filmmakers approach stories outside their lived experience. He stressed the importance of finding honest collaborators when working on subjects that are not part of one’s own experience.
Inside Chalachitra Lab, organizers highlighted efforts at inclusion, including a Producers Workshop with four female mentors and participants. Board member Janaki Kadayat noted that the selection committee included two female board members and that the lab issued an open call for female volunteers, though budget constraints limited their participation.
Challenges Faced by Women Filmmakers
Many women working in Nepal’s independent film circuit recognized the stage described by Dongol. Writer and director Raksha Thapa said female filmmakers are often deliberately denied space, citing personal experiences where talent was overlooked in favor of male counterparts. She emphasized the need for prioritization and institutional support for women in the industry.
Rajeela Shrestha, who attended the pitch event, felt disheartened by what she saw. She highlighted the need for sustained support for women trying to maintain continuous careers in film, noting that most workshops target emerging filmmakers, leaving those already working without adequate resources.
Moving Forward
Both Thapa and Shrestha emphasized the need for a community of female filmmakers to share energy and protect one another. They called for equality in crew composition at every level, starting from the Film Development Board and unions themselves.
Among the participants, the conversation was more layered. Male participant Grishm Shrestha acknowledged the value of having a female mentor for stories centered on women. Female participant Sanjila Jugjali Pun, one of the three women selected to direct a project, noted that while the experience was empowering, it was also incomplete. Her team knew the likelihood of not having women mentors and raised the issue, receiving honest feedback from the organizers.
Nepal is a country where women make up 51 percent of the population, yet the rooms where stories about women are developed, funded, and selected remain overwhelmingly male. The question remains: why does the industry continue to trust its stories predominantly to men?
